


Burst

by bisexualreina



Category: The Fall (TV 2013), The X-Files
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Dana Scully, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Mention of abduction, Non graphic depictions of violence, The Fall - Freeform, The X Files - Freeform, apendectomy, bisexual stella gibson, flf marriage, mention of being drugged, stella and scully
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:47:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27467428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualreina/pseuds/bisexualreina
Summary: Stella needs Scully to take her medicine, but she's not too keen on the idea
Relationships: Stella Gibson & Dana Scully, Stella Gibson/Dana Scully
Comments: 9
Kudos: 34





	Burst

**Author's Note:**

> trigger warning: mention of being drugged; mention of Scully's abduction and trauma

Stella huffed as she made the second trip from the car to the front door, this time Scully was tenderly wrapped in the throw blanket from the bed, the blonde’s muscular arm gripping her waist, conscious of the fresh scar on the lower, right corner of Scully’s stomach. 

With the fear of her burst appendix the night before, she hadn’t had time to grab a bag or fix any of the things that Scully would’ve wanted for a hospital stay, including a jacket to block out the icy rain. Stella knew that these next few days would be hell, Scully had convinced the doctors to go the outpatient route despite the open abdomen surgery that she had underwent at nearly two in the morning, convincing them to release her closer to noon that same day. Stella had objected at first, but then she saw the way her wife shrunk nervously in the hospital bed, her fingers picking at the now dry skin around her nails. For a doctor, she noticed how deeply Dana Scully hated hospitals.

Scully had let on that she had some unpleasant stays during the early parts of her pregnancy with William, and following his delivery she faced some rather unpleasant procedures when her placenta wouldn’t expel. It was quite the trauma inducing experience for her, and Stella could see the bottom half of her lip quivering at the mention of the possibility of her having to stay overnight.

That was when the blonde made up her mind, Scully had undergone surgery, but from what they had laid out for Stella while the nurses took her back, was that if she wasn’t experiencing any chills or fever after four hours, then she’d be fine to leave. Once that fourth hour hit, Stella was promptly checking on her wife, taking her hand that was weakly propped onto her lap, noticing how steady it was, she wasn’t feeling any chills, a good sign so far.

She then bit down on her lip as she trailed her hand up to her clammy cheek, her freckles on full display under the pad of her thumb, she felt no fever, another good sign. Her medical skills were nowhere near Scully’s, she had taken some courses, and one of her many degrees had been in Anatomy and Human Development, so she had a slight understanding, paired with her mandatory medical training that she had required as Detective Superintendent.

However this wasn’t just some injured victim laying in the forest for her to quickly check on while on pursuit, this was Dana, her wife, who had gone through her fair share of medical traumas to last a lifetime, and she was too special to be just examined as such. 

Feeling the cool skin against her cheek, Scully groggily opened her eyes, unable to fully rest while hooked up to the uncomfortable bed that they had transferred her to. She knew the procedure, a white sheet was loosely hanging out from underneath her, which they had used to lift her body onto the mattress. One nurse would tuck her in while another typed in her information and scanned the barcode on her bracelet. It was all rushed and informal, just as all things were in hospitals.

“Ready to get going?” Stella whispered, her trademarked vocal register soothing Scully as the sound wrapped around her unsteady body, bringing it warmth and comfort.

…

As Stella kept a steady hand around Scully while helping her into the house, she realized that she had almost zero time to prepare for her recovery, let alone taking care of her merely six hours post operation. She pinched her lips in concentration and hoisted her down the hall towards their bedroom which was still disheveled from Scully waking her in the early hours of the morning, vomiting and crying out in pain from the bathroom. 

She had noticed that her wife wasn’t feeling her best, but the sight had scared the living daylights out of her, and Stella didn’t scare easily. The sheets were pulled back from Stella kicking them off, always ready to leap into action to defend her little family, this time making it easy for her to tenderly sit Scully momentarily, the crease of her body landing right on her scar, causing her to pale with nausea.

“Shit.” Stella found herself gasping, yanking her phone and wallet out of her bag before holding it out for Scully to retch into, the clenching of her abdomen causing pain induced tears to prick out of the corners of her eyes. Stella wanted to drop everything and hold her until she felt better, but she was also aware that she was holding a purse full of Scully’s puke, and needed to plan better to avoid another instance like this one. 

Scully gasped and moved away from the bag, her lip quivering apologetically once realizing what she had just done, to her bodily fluids and functions didn’t phase her in the slightest, she spent her past elbow deep in body cavities, and other days getting peed and spit up on by her little baby, but Stella was different, yes she spent her hours staring at gruesome crime scenes and the worst side of humanity, but she also knew that in the compartmentalized manner that she lived, she struggled with vomit, blood, action movies, and gore.

“I’m sorry.” Scully whimpered, her eyes watching Stella take a swift breath and shake her head in her direction, swiftly discarding the purse into the plastic bag that lined the garbage bin, instantly moving towards her wife, pulling her softly against her shoulder to press a kiss into her hair before gingerly laying her back against the pillows. The doctor released a strained breath, her hand trembling as it lingered around the bandaged spot of her abdomen, right beside her bellybutton, even the steady rising and falling of her abdomen causing her muscles to ache.

“No need to be. I know you didn’t sleep at the hospital, so I’m going to get your painkillers and some crackers. You need to eat or they will make you vomit even more.” Stella informed, recalling the discharge instructions along with the pharmacist’s warning upon racing into the drugstore on the way home. Scully just shook her head at her and gripped her wrist to prevent her from moving.

“I don’t want to take them, I don’t want to get dependent on them…” She cried at the blonde, her long strawberry locks sticking to her cheeks from the perspiration that was secreting from her pores. Stella just breathed out patiently and brushed Scully’s bangs out of her face, her hand resting comfortably on her damp cheek.

“I will keep an eye on you, and make sure you don’t, but you had surgery today and need rest.” Stella vowed, almost as sacred as the ones she had taken almost a year prior. She didn’t let Scully answer, simply nodding at the woman before tying the garbage bag and carrying it out to the kitchen where she dropped it into the larger bin, settling on taking it out once Scully drifted off. 

Stella moved swiftly and deliberately around the kitchen, gathering the large water cup that resembled more of a pitcher from the cupboard that Scully had apparently brought home with her from her stay in the hospital following her son’s arrival, to measure her water intake, perfect for this instance.

She filled it with chilled water and placed a straw on the inside, figuring that it would make it easier for her wife to consume without having to sit up completely. Her front teeth gnawed nervously on her bottom lip while she dug through the cupboard, retrieving a roll of crackers before scanning the refrigerator for some cherry gelatin, knowing Scully would not consume any other flavor, insisting that the “leprechaun taint” taste was too bad to get past, the comment always exasperating Stella who found every flavor simply odd.

She was nearly done as she juggled the cup, gelatin cup, crackers, metal spoon, and paper bag, when Scully whimpered quietly from the other room, trying to keep her voice inaudible from her wife. 

“I’m coming my love, just hang on.” She called calmly, setting all the items downon the nightstand before slowly sitting her pajama clad bottom onto the mattress beside Scully’s thigh, rubbing a soothing hand up and down her shivering leg. Her chilled skin prompting Stella to pull the duvet over her along with two other throw blankets, allowing them to drape loosely over her body, versus tucking them warmly around her.

“I know you don’t want to, but eat a few crackers, then I’m going to give you one pill and you can sleep.” Stella narrated as she passed one of the wafers over, watching Scully nibble on it, uninterested with the taste, or the hunger that she should’ve been feeling, her aching body distracting her from the heavy weight of her eyelids. Stella watched her closely, folding her legs underneath her body, her hand that was once stroking Scully’s leg now trailing up towards her left hip bone, lightly grazing it to remind her partner to take it slow as she consumed the dry crackers.

Once she noticed that she had consumed a quarter of the sleeve, Stella reached over and slid one of the pills out of the container, holding it out to Scully who pursed her lips tightly once more, refusing.

“I don’t need it.” She insisted, however the pain that made her voice shake told another story. Stella tilted her head and wondered for a moment as to why her wife was refusing relief, setting the water jug down on the nightstand, along with the pill beside it.

“Dana, you are sweating from how much you are hurting. You need to rest so that you don’t get inflamed or infected.” Stella huffed, feeling somewhat exasperated, but mostly confused with the sheer refusal that her wife was taking.

“I don’t like things that knock me out…” She admitted, each word taking her utmost concentration and effort to puff out, but Stella just shook her head and moved closer, giving her a moment to continue.

“I’ve been drugged so many times before…worked on, without my consent- I can manage it.” Scully cried, tears building in her eyes as they refused to meet her wife’s, Stella’s heart broke, she knew that Scully had shared some of the most painful parts of her life with her, but as she got the privilege to hear some of these events as her then-girlfriend slowly divulged them, she also learned that they came with several, well hidden emotional marks. 

She pursed her lips and brushed her thumb over the damp skin of her freckled cheek, exhaling a patient breath before looking down at her with love. Stella had her own share of pain, trauma, and fears, and she knew not to push Scully to do something that she wasn’t comfortable with, but she also knew that she wouldn’t heal without proper rest.

She could feel her wife begin to slowly relax beneath her touch, despite the sharp ache that spread all over her body, allowing herself to, trusting Stella wholeheartedly.

“That makes sense, and I don’t want to make you feel unsafe, but I do need you to sleep, so what if I give you half, an ice pack and rub your feet the way you like it?” She offered, watching Scully think for a moment before nodding at her, reaching a hand out nervously.

“I will take the whole thing, but I just need you with me after I fall asleep.” She compromised, logically Stella knew that this would be time for her to empty the garbage, make her some chicken broth, and maybe throw a load into the wash for her to have fresh clothes upon her waking, but Scully needed her, and upon her request she’d lay with her for however long she needed.

“Not because I need you to protect me…” Scully began to clarify, but Stella just nodded at her, the same thought tracing her consciousness following her attack, the way she’d retreat to Scully’s apartment before they lived together in the flat, just for the comfort when she was having an off day, when she needed some extra love to fill her cup.

“I know, you’re a very brave woman, but I’m here to help.” Stella breathed, pressing her lips onto Scully’s pillowy ones, tapping their foreheads together momentarily before gathering the pill and passing it over to Scully who held it nervously in her hand.

“It will help with the pain.” Scully repeated to herself, making eye contact with Stella who nodded in assurance, both of them waiting a moment before slipping it onto her tongue. Once she was sure she had taken she gave her hand a squeeze and exited to grab the promised ice pack from the freezer, assuring Scully that she’d be back.

It had been years since Scully had done this, and the memory was as clear as day, her stomach had been much larger and the feeling of her son tumbling around inside her was the only assurance of her son’s health when she had caught the live in nurse swapping out her prenatal vitamins, the injection behind her neck that left her paralyzed on a table as a drill burrowed, inflated, and excavated her clean, leaving her womb supposedly bare. Her cancer enough to leave her with foul memories of the hospital and doctors, along with the male one who had nearly torn her in half to keep her from bleeding out onto the table once Mulder and Monica brought her in following her traumatic delivery.

Scully began to cry at the memories, feeling quite foolish for getting so worked up over some pain medicine that many teenagers took to ease wisdom tooth pain, but was sending her into a full emotional breakdown. Stella felt her breath hitch at the sight of Dana weeping on the bed, moving beside her once more, the ice pack wrapped in soft material, cognizant of how a dish towel might feel against her abdomen.

Scully shuddered at the cold contact, but it helped immensely, allowing her to reach down and grip her throbbing foot that was being compressed by the socks they had given her upon her discharge, gingerly massaging it as promised.

“Dana, just focus here.” Stella coached, a hand running up her calf, but Scully just shook her head at her and bit her lip, reaching a limp hand out in her direction. Stella just smiled sadly and propped her pillows around her to make her more comfortable before gently melting her body around her, gripping her hand warmly, breathing evenly into her ear.

“You’re safe here, nobody else is here in the apartment except me, and I would never hurt you.” Stella affirmed into her ear, the words reminding Scully of her safe space that she had established within her marriage, with her partner, and deep within the love that they shared.

Stella watched as the medicine began to work, her wife’s eyes growing heavier and heavier with exhaustion as she nuzzled her head beneath the blonde’s chin, resting safely within the crook of her neck. She ran a finger up the side of her face and pressed a kiss onto her sleepy eyelids and whispered once more to try and ebb the last bit of consciousness away.

“Just rest my love, I’ll be here.” She smiled, feeling Scully relax finally, a blanket now being pulled higher to rest under her chin, now covering both women. Stella breathed in her scent as their close proximity nearly lulled her to bed herself, but she fought it as best as she could, knowing that there would be enough time for her to sleep in the coming days leading up to the weekend, which she had called in, knowing that Dana needed her, and for Dana she’d always show up.


End file.
